Preps Plus. BASKETBALL ROUNDUP.

Westinghouse Tops Manley As Russell Takes Charge Late

Westinghouse junior forward Richard Russell was the answer to every Manley question Friday, scoring 10 of his 15 points in the final quarter to carry the Warriors to a 61-58 Public Red West victory.

On three occasions, Russell found himself picking up the ball near the basket for critical points. "I had been in a slump my last four games," he said. The sense of urgency demonstrated by Russell and players from both teams underlined the importance of the game. The loser would face the unenviable prospect of dropping down to the Blue Division next season. Westinghouse (12-12, 4-6) finally secured the victory when David Harper's three-point try just missed. The inside play of Jamal Washington (14 points, nine rebounds, three blocks), Aaron Moore (10 points) and the long-range shooting of Jamal Brown (10 points) put Westinghouse in control. But behind the play of Luther Head (21 points, eight rebounds, seven assists), Manley (12-14, 2-9) fought back to within 42-40 entering the fourth.

Patrick McGavin.

Hales 61, De La Salle 48

Hales Franciscan wanted to impress more than just the Senior Night capacity crowd in its contest against visiting De La Salle. Coach Mike Taylor said the team also wanted to show the rest of the Catholic League that Hales Franciscan was not to be forgotten in the race for the conference title.

Did it ever. Hales Franciscan tightened the North Division chase with an impressive 61-48 victory over De La Salle.

Hales Franciscan (15-8, 8-3) jumped on De La Salle from the start and never trailed in the crucial battle. Hales is tied for second with De La Salle, one game behind leader Loyola.

"Many of the guys feel that we have something to prove to the rest of the Catholic League in that Hales is for real," Taylor said.

And Hales certainly looked that way from the beginning when the Spartans set the tone by taking an 18-7 first-quarter lead. The Hales tandem of Justin Stewart (16 points, 15 rebounds) and Lionnel Miller (18 points, 10 rebounds) dominated the inside against De La Salle (14-9, 8-3) and combined for 11 points to give the Spartans a 30-15 halftime lead.

Latin 69, North Shore Country Day 44: Mike Rudoy scored 15 points as Latin (20-2, 11-0) clinched the Independent School League title.

Leo 57, St. Rita 55: Spencer Carter scored 13 points while Chris Burras and Corey English added 11 apiece for Leo (19-5, 9-3) in the Catholic League win. The Lions trailed by seven entering the fourth quarter and took the lead with under two minutes left on an English three-pointer, and Burras blocked an attempted layup at the buzzer that would have sent the game to overtime.